Partnership for Success: TAG Porsche Turbo Engines
& Team McLaren

Photos and story by Harry Kennison

In the early 80's it became apparent that if you wanted to win the
Formula 1 World Championship, you needed to have a turbocharged
engine. Renault had pioneered turbocharging in the mid 70's, but it
took the engineering and budgetary might of BMW to be the first to win
a championship with a turbo engine. In 1983 the tiny 4-cylinder
1.5 liter (about 81 cubic inches) BMW turbo was capable of producing
well over 1,200 horsepower. It took Nelson Piquet to his second World
Championship, besting the normally aspirated 3-liter-engine cars
fielded by the Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren teams.

Ron Dennis, principal at Team McLaren, saw the turbo "writing on the
wall." In 1981 he started shopping for a turbo engine of his own to
replace the aging Ford Cosworth V-8 that had been around for 14 years.
His search led him to Porsche. It was no secret that Porsche had
achieved considerable racing success with turbocharging over the
years with their Le Mans racing program. However, the cost of funding
the design and development of a brand new turbo engine was more than
what Dennis's sizable budget would allow.

Enter Mansour Ojjeh, the son of a wealthy Saudi Arabian entrepreneur.
Ojjeh and his company, Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG), had begun their
involvement in Formula 1 as the primary sponsor of the Williams F-1
team in 1979. Their funding was a major factor in securing two world
championships for Williams in 1980 and 1982.

Instead of just being a F-1 sponsor, Ron Dennis lured Ojjeh away from
Williams by offering him a partnership agreement in his engine deal
with Porsche. The two men formed a new company called TAG Turbo
Engines in 1982 and unveiled their 1.5 liter six-cylinder turbo
engine at the 1983 Geneva Auto Show. Although it was badged as a TAG
Turbo, everyone knew deep down it was a Porsche.

The TAG-Porsche turbo was mated with the highly successful McLaren
MP4 carbon-fiber chassis designed by the talented John Barnard. The
engine made its racing debut at the Dutch Grand Prix in mid-season of
1983 in the hands of the former Austrian world Champion, Niki Lauda.
Although it showed considerable promise, several teething problems
kept it from making it to the podium in its first season. 1984 would
prove to be a different story.

For 1984 Ron Dennis had signed the Frenchman Alain Prost to partner
Lauda at McLaren. Unlike the previous year, the TAG-Porsche engine
would prove to be nearly bulletproof. These two drivers combined to
win 12 of the 16 races, with Lauda taking his third and final World
Drivers' Championship by a single point over teammate Alain Prost.
Lauda won despite the fact that Prost racked up seven wins to Niki's
five victories; consistent finishes are what tipped the scales in
Lauda's favor. Their dominant performance also gave the
McLaren-TAG Porsche the coveted Manufacturers' Championship.

In 1985 Prost and Lauda continued their winning ways, winning seven of
the 16 races with Prost taking the Drivers' Championship and the
TAG-Porsche-powered McLaren their second Constructors' Championship.

Following Lauda's retirement, Prost would win four more races in 1986
in the McLaren-TAG Porsche and take the Driving crown for the second
straight year. In 1987, the final year of the TAG-Porsche power,
Prost added another three victories for Team McLaren.

During its four full seasons of competition, the TAG-Porsche turbo
engine powered McLaren to 26 Grand Prix victories including six 1–2
finishes, winning an astonishing 41% of the races entered. All in
all, it was not a bad partnership for McLaren, TAG, and Porsche.

Driver

1984 Wins

1985 Wins

1986 Wins

1987 Wins

Total Wins

Alain Prost

7

6

4

3

20

Niki Lauda

5

1

–

–

6

McLaren-TAG Porsche

12

7

4

3

26

Total Races

16

16

16

16

64

Win Percentage

75%

44%

25%

19%

41%

Drivers' World Championship

Lauda

Prost

Prost

3

Constructors' World Championship

McLaren-TAG Porsche

McLaren-TAG Porsche

2

Click on any photo to enlarge
it

Alain Prost (#7) leads teammate Niki Lauda (#8) in their
McLaren-TAG Porsches through the hairpin turn during the 1984 Canadian
Grand Prix held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Isle of Notre
Dame in Montreal. This would prove to be one of the few races they
didn't win that season; however, they did finish second and third.

McLaren mechanics work on Alain Prost's #7 McLaren-TAG Porsche prior
to qualifying at the 1984 Canadian Grand Prix.

Three-time World Driving Champion, Niki Lauda.

The Niki Lauda fan club was present and accounted for at the 1984
Canadian Grand Prix cheering him on to his third World Championship.

Niki Lauda, two-time World Champion with Ferrari, powers his
McLaren-TAG Porsche through the hairpin in route to a third place
finish and valuable points toward the 1984 World Championship which he
would ultimately win by 1/2 point over his teammate Alain Prost.